As the government’s funding deadline approaches, Senior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Richard Shelby and Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Sessions warn that unless changes are made, “The omnibus [spending bill] would put the U.S. on a path to approve admission for hundreds of thousands of migrants from a broad range of countries with jihadists movements.”

As we near a vote on the year-end government funding bill, we believe it is essential that Congress take strong steps to restore the security and financial integrity of our immigration system. In recent months, we have seen immigrants in the United States implicated in terrorist activity hailing from countries including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Somalia, Sudan, Ghana and Saudi Arabia, to name a few. The risk is not limited to Syrian migration, but encompasses a wide-range of countries and the ever-present threat of post-entry radicalization.

Congress must cancel the President’s blank refugee check and put Congress back in charge of the program. We cannot allow the President to unilaterally decide how many refugees he wishes to admit, nor continue to force taxpayers to pick up the tab for the tens of billions of unpaid-for welfare and entitlement costs. The omnibus would put the U.S. on a path to approve admission for hundreds of thousands of migrants from a broad range of countries with jihadists movements over the next 12 months, on top of all the other autopilot annual immigration – absent language to reduce the numbers.

The Senators assert that, as elected representatives, it is Congress’ “constitutional dut[y] to protect our nation and to establish uniform rules of immigration that safeguard the national interest.”

“We cannot continue to fund the operation of immigration policies and programs that hurt our own constituents,” the Senators write.

The Senators outlined several appropriations proposals related to immigration that would prioritize the interests of American people, such as:

“A provision to deny the expenditure of grant funds in the omnibus legislation for Sanctuary Cities

A provision to deny the expenditure of funds to issue visas to countries that refuse to repatriate criminal aliens

A provision to prevent the expenditure of any funds on immigration programs that waive in-person interviews

While Sessions and Shelby have taken a firm stand against funding the President’s refugee resettlement operation and other immigration programs, recent reports suggest the House Freedom Caucus is willing to fully fund all of Obama’s refugee and immigration plans.

According to The Daily Signal, the House Freedom Caucus is asking only that the omnibus include the Ryan-McCaul “measure to toughen screenings of Syrian and Iraqi refugees”.

Prominent conservatives from Rich Lowry to Mark Levin, as well as immigration control groups like the Federation For American Immigration Reform, have all explained that Ryan’s bill will do nothing to halt Obama’s refugee resettlement operation.

In an earlier statement, Sessions observed that the legislation Ryan pushed through the House “allows the President to continue to bring in as many refugees as he wants from anywhere in the world.”

Ryan’s plan would also leave harmless all other countries sending to America refugee terrorists, like Somalia and Uzbekistan. Moreover, according to Sen. Sessions, Obama’s DREAMer amnesty, entitlement, and work permit program will be funded as well.